Two new Open Arms offices for Brisbane’s veteran community

Open Arms recently expanded its mental health support offering for the 60,000 veterans who call Greater Brisbane home. 

On 16 April 2024, Assistant Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, The Hon Matt Thistlethwaite MP, opened two new Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling offices in Stafford and Mount Gravatt, which will provide local defence personnel, veterans and families with improved access to free counselling, group programs, and peer support.

“Brisbane is home to one of Australia’s largest veteran communities and Open Arms is Australia’s leading specialist mental health service for veterans and their families,” Minister Thistlethwaite said in a statement.

“Our veterans sacrifice much for the service of this country, they put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us. This is an unpayable debt, but veterans can rest assured that Open Arms is there for them when they need support.”

“I would like to thank the Open Arms staff for their unwavering support of veterans and their families, and I look forward to seeing this vital work expanded through these new offices,” Minister Thistlethwaite said.

Open Arms was established by Vietnam veterans as the Vietnam Veterans’ Counselling Service. Since 1982, Open Arms has provided more than 2 million free mental health sessions to over 300,000 veterans and their family members. 

These new offices will contain specialist staff, trained to provide military-aware and trauma-informed care. Many Open Arms staff are veterans themselves or from veteran families. 

Open Arms provides specialised, free and confidential Australia-wide support for veterans and veteran family members. To find out how Open Arms can support you, contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 011 046.

To see the locations of the new South Queensland Open Arms offices, visit Office locations | Open Arms